Pages 9-40 Summary and Analysis

Thompson begins his author's note by writing that he has used more lines from the Book of Revelation over the years than any other work, but not because he is religious but because its madness is incredibly powerful and Bibles are always accessible in hotel rooms. Thompson then describes his desire to escape from journalism but that it sticks with him like an addiction. Finally, Thompson ponders on the existence of heaven and hell and describes heaven as worse than hell.

"Saturday Night in the City" details Thompson taking his girlfriend Maria to a tattoo parlor in San Francisco to get a tattoo just to write a story about it. Thompson is exhausted from lecturing for the past week and desperately needs to meet his deadline, so the easiest way to go about it is to have Maria get...